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Monday, March 7, 2011

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU FEEL THIS BLUE?

After 30 years of psychic pain, I embarked on a sort of "cuckoo's quest." I underwent a therapy I never dreamed I would have the courage or recklessness even to consider: shock treatments. All they did was to blow my mind, but a growing, profitable electroconvulsive-therapy industry is targeting both younger and older patients -- and claiming overwhelming success. Meanwhile, there is new evidence that it damages the brain in ways that were never anticipated. A detailed overview, both personal and journalistic, is behind the "Shock Treatments" tab above.